


Acing Chemistry (Joshler)

by thesnapwasbrutal



Category: BLURRYFACE - Twenty One Pilots (Album), Twenty One Pilots, Twenty One Pilots - Twenty One Pilots (Album)
Genre: Abuse, Don't worry, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Gay, Gay For You, Hold My Beer, I Don't Even Know, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Sad, What Was I Thinking?, fite me, haha kidding - Freeform, help me, i dont drink beer mom, if i was a male, im not, mr bill is me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 00:28:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19162102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesnapwasbrutal/pseuds/thesnapwasbrutal
Summary: josh dun, a shy but charming young man who doesn't back down when faced with his biggest challenge yet, tyler joseph.





	1. 1. échouer, toujours

"Tyler!"

The sleeping boy woke up with a violent jolt as he stared at the angry teacher furiously glaring at him at the front of the class. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and shamelessly let out a yawn, running his fingers through his brown locks, making a few students giggle.

"What did I tell you about sleeping in class!"

Tyler rolled his eyes as he cocked his head at his teacher. "I wouldn't fall asleep in class if you made your lessons more... interesting." He said, smiling deviously as he saw the shock on his teachers face. The class erupted into laughs but quickly silenced as soon as they caught the wicked glance their teacher shot them.

"Solving chemical equations are interesting..." The teacher said hopelessly, sadness in his face as he walked back to his desk. He flopped down in his chair looking down at his desk. "Everyone open your textbooks to page 217."

Mr Bill was so easy to upset that Tyler found it humorous that it brought a smile to his face every time. He was satisfied that he could bring others sadness for once instead of it being the other way around. His smile slowly faded as he opened his textbook to the assigned page. To say the work was hard was an understatement. Tyler's mind went completely blank as he stared at the equation he was supposed to solve.

_HNaO3 + PbNa2 + HCl_ _→_ _PbCl3 + NaCl + H2O_

"What... the fuck?" He mumbled to himself. Tyler turned his head to see the rest of the class zooming through the questions. He looked beside him and saw his desk mate solving the equations with ease. He looked back down to his book with a baffled expression and tried to wrap his head around the complicated elements and methods. He could swear he could feel his brain cells dying.

"If you had been paying attention, you would be able to solve those." Tyler flinched as he heard his teachers voice boom over his shoulder and saw him looking down at him smugly. "Do you need some help?" He asked, pointing at the questions tauntingly.

Tyler would never give Mr Bill the pleasure of ever helping him. He would rather give up his leg, or eye. He would rather give up his left arm, and he was  _left-handed_. Never in one thousand years would he accept his help.

"No thank you, sir," Tyler replied with fake sweetness laced in his voice. "I'll do just fine on my own."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Tyler did not do fine.

At all.

In fact, he spent the entire one-hour lesson trying to understand which element he had to balance first. He was positive the whole class was at least three pages ahead of him and he couldn't even finish the first. The bell rang, signalling the class was over. Tyler rushed to pack his bags, but his actions were stopped by his teacher's voice.

"Tyler, come here." The authority figure said ushering Tyler towards him with his thin index finger.

The young boy slowly walked towards Mr Bill, dragging his feet, dreading the scolding he was about to receive. He had gotten the same words yelled at him so many times that he had practically memorized them.

"There's no good way to put this but," Mr Bill started, "You're failing this class. So I've signed you up for our student-to-student tutoring program." He said clapping his hands together with glee, before shrugging his backpack on. "Please note, you have no choice."

"What do you mean-" a stunned Tyler started, but was quickly cut off by his teacher.

"Tutoring starts tomorrow at three!" Mr Bill made a fast exit, ignoring Tyler's wordless protest. The student stomped back to his desk as he grabbed his bag with a heavy sigh, slinging it over his shoulder before leaving the classroom.

_Who does he think he is?!? That's fucking unfair as hell!_

He headed to the door through the crowded hallways, watching as people shamelessly gawked at him as if he was an animal on display. Tyler didn't have the best reputation at school since he was a transfer student after all, and rumours were bound to occur. He just didn't expect everyone to believe them and not even make an effort to get to know him. He hadn't made a friend since he arrived, but he didn't care.

At least, that's what he told himself.

Tyler walked outside the school, making his way home. He watched as the cars whizzed by, their headlights blurry. Sometimes his life felt blurry as if he couldn't control anything. It was all moving too fast for him to try to tame, so he let it happen at a speed that wasn't healthy. Tyler often couldn't sleep, thoughts overcome his mind gnawing at his very existence and he couldn't stop it, no matter how he tried. He had... regretted doing things, things that he couldn't take back, such as ending up at the ER. His mother and father didn't understand his motives. If anything, they thought it was just a silly stunt and that he was just trying to fight for attention. His siblings didn't understand. No one could ever understand the pain he was going through and still is.

Tyler realized he was already standing in front of his front yard. The grass was a dirt green and looked bent and patchy since his siblings had been playing football there. The mailbox was slightly crooked from being kicked and leaned on. The fence was no longer white but a muddy grey, chaffing and showing the dry, cheap wood underneath the paint. The front door was dark wood with little to no details. As long as it was a door, his father said once when Tyler mentioned that. The sound of a small bell filled the home as it signalled that someone had entered.

"Tyler, is that you?" His mother asked from the kitchen. The sweet smell of baked goods hit Tyler's nose. His mother always liked to bake since the incident. If anything, it only made Tyler feel guilty; he was responsible for the change.

"Yes, momma." He said as he took off his shoes. He set them to the corner with everyone's footwear as he walked to the kitchen. "What are you baking this time?" Tyler asked walking into the kitchen watching as his mom stood at the sink.

"Apple pie..." She replied, glancing at the kitchen clock.

_3:40pm_

"It should be done in... let's say... forty minutes?" She said looking at him with a smile.

"You can go wash up before then."

Tyler gave her a small nod, walking out of the kitchen and heading up the stairs. He heard a slight commotion coming from his room, and was quick to enter it. His eyes widened as he saw his ten-year-old sister, Madison, reaching under his bed with a look of desperation on her face.

"Ah!!" She screeched, jumping up from the floor as soon as she saw her big brother. "Tyler... you're home." She said nervously.

What, was there a snake under his bed? Madison must have seen the look of confusion on Tyler's face as she rushed to explain. "My book! Jay put it there and now I can't reach it!!"

"Don't worry, calm down," Tyler said dropping his bag and crouching to see a thick novel under his bed, and saw  _'the ersatz elevator'_  on the spine. He stretched his arm under his bed and grabbed the book, wiping it off from dust. "Here." He said, handing it to his smiling sister.

"I hope you don't mind that it's your book, Ty," Madison asked, a look of concern on her features. She never used to give him that look before the incident and Tyler felt guilty since he caused that change.

"It's fine." He said with a shrug before ruffling her hair. "Now get outta here ya big ol' nerd!" Tyler tickled her before she stuck out her tongue at him and ran into her room.

The smile on his face faded as he closed his door shut.

The teen stumbled his way to his bed, flopping onto the bouncy mattress and staring at his ceiling covered in stars. He put them up when he was about Maddy's age but didn't have the guts to remove the stickers since they reminded him of happier times. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the serenity of his quiet room, but not before long, a loud rapping sounded at his door breaking the silence making him grumble as he opened the door, getting hit with the familiar stench of cheap cologne.

"Tyler!!" His fourteen-year-old brother said happily. "Wanna watch Batman with us?" He asked walking into his tired bother's room, invading his space.

Tyler let out an annoyed sigh. "Is Jay watching?" He asked watching as his brother wandered to his desk and picked up his cassettes, moving them around and leaving them out of place.

"Yup," Zack said before shoving a cassette in his face. "Can I have this? It reminds me of you." In his brother's hand was A Night at the Opera. Tyler couldn't help but feel bad since Zack only started asking for his possessions since the incident.

"Sure," Tyler said before walking out of his room, hearing hurried footsteps behind him. "As long as you keep it safe." He said with a mischievous tone, knowing very well that Zack had the tendency to lose and damage things.

"I'll try my hardest," Zack replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, although he was smiling.

"Tyler!!!" The six-year-old shouted as he saw his eldest brother walk in the living room. "You're back from school!!" Jay rushed over from the three-seater and crushed Tyler in a tight hug. He was a very strong hugger now that he was older.

"J-jay..." The brunette said, struggling for air. "I would like to have a set of functioning lungs, please." He said with a breathless chuckle.

The child instantly let go of Tyler with a giggle after hearing those words. "Missed you," Jay said, taking hold of Tyler's hand.

"I know, Jay." The older replied, softening his gaze. "I missed you too."

Tyler felt bad admitting it but, Jay was his favourite family member. Out of everyone, he was the only one who didn't change his behaviour towards Tyler. Maybe it was because he was young and oblivious to the gravity of what happened.

"Let's watch Batman!!" Jay squealed, plonking himself back onto the three seaters, patting the spot next to him.

"Is Maddy joining us?" Tyler asked sitting down on the sofa while Zack sat down on the two-seater.

As if on cue, Madison walked in the living room holding a large bowl of popcorn. "I'm here!" She said as she moved to sit on the floor, a few inches from the TV.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Tyler's face remained still as he saw the beginning of the end credits roll. "That movie was trash." He said finally, earning an amused laugh from Jay who was sat next to him, leaning on his shoulder. "What? It's true!"

"Uhh... did we just watch the same movie?" Maddy asked, whipping her head from the TV and looking at Tyler with a bewildered expression. "Cause that was awesome."

"Whatever man." Tyler said, watching with a smile as Madison stood up babbling about 'how good the movie was' and 'how Tyler doesn't know good quality movies'.

"Tyler..." Zack started with his body sprawled out on the sofa and his hand on his face. "She's gonna be talking about that through dinner..." He said as he slowly got up. "You created that..." Zack pointed at the ten-year-old as she raged on about the movie, not realizing no one was listening.

Tyler shrugged his shoulders. He pinched Jay's cheeks before getting up and walking upstairs to his room.

As soon as he closed his door making sure to lock it, he shed all of his clothing heading into his bathroom. His toes curled as they came into contact with the cold tile as he dumped his clothes into the wash-basket and stepped inside the shower. His hair darkened as he turned on the warm water.

The water poured down and dripped down his side, as his mind faded into dullness until everything was a foggy illusion. The sensation of the steamy water calmed Tyler; it took his mind off things. All the things he honestly couldn't bother to care about. His mind swirled, and it's like Tyler was standing under an everlasting waterfall. Ever so beautiful, but never lasting. Tyler hadn't realized he was crying, but it wasn't a problem since his salty tears and emotions were mixed with the warm suffocating blanket of water.

He quickly scrubbed his body, ridding himself of germs and dirt as he moved on to thoroughly shampoo his hair. When he was done, he turned off the flow of water and stepped out of the small cubicle, drying off water droplets with his pale green towel. Tyler put on a pair of underwear before he left the bathroom looking for suitable clothes to wear in his closet. His eyes settled on a blue sweater as he reached to grab them, pulling it over his damp hair. He pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants as well as green fluffy socks.

Tyler moved to sit at his desk, dragging his backpack along with him. He figured he could just get his homework over and done with instead of lagging it on. Tyler pulled his laptop out of his bag and wrote about four long paragraphs on the importance of research, having to back up his argument with evidence and, well, research. Not before long, Tyler was submitting his essay, with his final work edited and refined. With a sigh, he glanced at his digital clock and the breath was knocked out of his lungs as he saw the time.

_6:00pm_

Tyler quickly slammed his laptop shut, wincing at the loud bang it made before shooting up from his chair. Dinner was about to start and he didn't want to be late. The last time he was late... the questions almost never stopped. He promptly made his way down the stairs and into the dining room, smiling when he saw Jay's bright grin when he walked in. Apart from Jay, Zack and his mother were seated at the table, patiently waiting for all family members to arrive.

"Mom! It's TyTy!" Jay squealed while jiggling in his seat. His mother smiled at his behaviour before looking at the sixteen-year-old.

"I was about to come and check on you." She said with a strain on her voice. Tyler knew what she meant. She couldn't trust him enough to be on his own for long that she had to check on him when she could. "Anyway, we're just waiting for Dad to arrive then we can start dinner."

Tyler visibly cringed at the mention of his father. He didn't have the very best relationship with him, especially after his 'little dumb stunt' as his father liked to call it.

Tyler sat down on the old, plush dining chair next to Zack and opposite Jay. Madison joined the table a few minutes after, sitting on the other side of Zack, still ranting about the movie they watched while their mother laughed and chatted with her, all while Tyler was silently dreading the arrival of his father.

The jingle of the front door's bell sounded and Tyler stiffened. He was here. He heard him take off his shoes before he appeared in the dining room and plopping on the dining chair next to mom.

"Hi Honey." Tyler's mother greeted his father with a kiss. She grabbed the stack of plates and passed them around until everyone had one.   

"Dad!" Zack called while putting a large serving of mash on his plate, passing the serving spoon around the table. "Our team passed to regionals!"

"Attaboy." His father said ruffling his hair from the other side of the table. "What did I tell ya', hard work pays off."

"And-And I got first place in the spelling bee!" Madison said, beaming when her dad gave her a warm, proud smile.

"How was work?" Their mother asked.

"Terrible." His gruff voice answered, and Tyler had a very bad feeling about what was next. "I got a call from a teacher." He said glancing at Tyler.

"What for?" Mom asked, putting food on Jay's plate while he flicked off the broccoli from his plate. "Jay, no." She scolded, putting it back before the look of concern fell upon her features.

"Well," He started, his voice lowering. "In the most important meeting of my career, I find out  _he's_ failing a class," Bill said tilting his head to Tyler while Maddy and Zack looked nervously at each other.

Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as he knew verbal degradement was next, and what's worse, it was front of his siblings. He clenched his fists underneath the table as he held his breath. He had found out a year ago that it helped with not crying.

" _That piece of fucking shit is failing chemistry._ " He said, roughly pointing at Tyler, anger laced in his voice.

"Chris! Jay!" She said, slapping his arm while looking innocently at Jay as if she wished his ears didn't work.

"After everything we fucking did for him, this is how he repays us." His father shouted, harshly standing up and making his chair fall down. "At least one of my sons isn't a fuck up."

He walked out of the dining room entering the kitchen and Tyler knew from many other times that he was meant to follow. Tyler left without a word, feeling the gazes of his siblings on his back. Once he reached his father, Tyler could say that he had encountered hell on earth, again. Harsh, bitter words were thrown at him without a care in the world as he had no other choice but to take them. A few droplets of spit fell on Tyler's face as his father continued to shout at him, tearing his walls down. He could feel them crumbling, but he did his best not to show it.

"You know what?" His father said while walking towards the door. "You don't deserve to eat tonight." He said stopping.

" _Sweet dreams, son._ "

Tyler nodded his head, watching his so-called 'father' walk away before going back up to his room to crying his heart out. He did this every time it happened. After a few minutes of soaking his pillow in tears, Tyler was drifting into a night of restless sleep.

_Nightmares plagued his dreams._


	2. 2. café au lait

Waking up in the morning was the hardest thing Tyler had to do. Why? Because he couldn't find the motivation to get up and start a new day with new possibilities. He knew things would go wrong, so he figured why get up at all? Unfortunately, he had to wake up. He didn't want another mouthful of words hurled at him by his mother this time.

The teen's eyelids fluttered open, and his eyes met with his ceilings stars. A smile graced his face as he sat upon his bed before quickly disappearing. A loud rumble sounded from his stomach as he was reminded him of yesterday night. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he knew he might see his siblings and mom at breakfast. After events like last night's, they would try to pretend nothing had happened and everything was fine. But when his dad came down, they would all leave the table, forgetting Tyler, leaving him vulnerable to his father's attacks. They tried to change after the incident, but it was useless. Old habits die hard after all.

Tyler was quick to rub at his eyes, getting rid of his tears. He glanced at his digital clock, sighing when he saw the time.

_5:00 am_

Classes started at six so Tyler had one hour to get ready. He got out of bed, walking to his bathroom, stripping his clothes on the way. He stepped into the shower with a depressed sigh. His mind was in shreds. Tyler turned the dial releasing thousands of lukewarm drops, darkening his hair once again and trickling down his back. His eyes fell closed over and over, each time releasing the tears he tried to stop. Away from prying eyes, Tyler was most emotionally vulnerable in the shower. It was the only moment he would get to be truly alone.

He finished up as quick as he could, dressing up in a long-sleeved lavender shirt and brown well-fitting pants. Next, he packed his blue backpack filling it with books, a few pens and his laptop, as well as his black folding umbrella in case it rained. After packing everything he needed, he quickly put his backpack on, rushing downstairs to the kitchen shortly after.

His body came to a sharp halt as he saw his father and mother chatting in the kitchen. The two must have heard Tyler come down the stairs as they turned around. His mother flashed him a small forced smile, which set him off, but as soon as Tyler saw his fathers furrowed brows and the snarl on his face, he knew the morning wouldn't be anything different from last night.

"Tyler, good morning!" His mother cheerfully greeted him, although he knew that deep down inside she had to force herself to act that way. She would never be genuine with him, and he knew why.

"Morning," Tyler said as he walked past the kitchen to the front door, carefully eyeing his father who was watching his every move.

"I'm off to school," Tyler said, putting on his black converse and tying his laces.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" His mother asked following the teen, her husband not far behind. Tyler glanced at him unsure of how to answer, but one glare quickly solved his uncertainty.

"N-no, I-i'm not hungry." He said, watching his father give him a small smirk and a satisfied nod. Tyler turned around and opened the door, hurriedly leaving his home. A huge weight lifted off his shoulders as he walked further away from his house.

It took him about ten minutes to reach school, and he had about five to get to class. He took in a deep breath before entering the main doors, mingling with the loud crowd of older students. The kids his age were probably already in class. Tyler knew he had English with Mrs Donna, who he actually liked and admired, so he rushed to her classroom.

Upon entering, he saw the blond-haired teacher marking papers at her desk before flashing him a genuine smile. He gave her a small wave, before settling at a desk right at the back of the class, feeling the other students in the classroom glare at him.

"Okay class, please get out your books." Mrs Donna said right after the bell rang.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"Okay, now, how does Shakespeare present conflict between parents and their children?" Mrs Donna asked, looking expectantly as her eyes roamed the students who weren't putting their hands up. She sighed impatiently when she realized that no-one would be any time soon.

"Hands up or I'll bring out the popsicle sticks." She said as she heard the students groan, looking frantically at each other, begging someone to answer. They hated the bloody popsicle sticks. They were about 26 of them in a plastic cup and each had one students name. Every teacher had a cup for each class and in desperate times, they would randomly pick a name catching anyone off guard.

_I know this_ , Tyler thought as he slowly put his hand up, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as his classmates stared, some silently thanking him as others glared. He saw the surprise in his teacher's eyes as he never answered questions in class but, nevertheless, Mrs Donna chose him.

"Yes, Tyler?"

"Y-yes, well um..." He cleared his throat, as he fiddled with his hands, not nervously - just out of habit. "In act one scene three, Juliet's mother ignores Juliet's opinion about marriage... at one point, her mother says..." He paused looking down to his open book on his desk, finding the quotation. " _'younger than you'_. It gives the impression that she wants Juliet to get married, since everyone younger than her is, so she tries to change Juliet's mind by comparing her to other married individuals, implying that she's upset with Juliet's life choices."

His teacher was taken aback for a second - never had she ever heard such a well thought out answer. "An excellent answer to a complicated question." Mrs Donna said, sitting down at her desk and smiling at Tyler. "That can get you at least an A on a test." She said before turning to the whole class.

"Now can anyone tell me what you think about how Shakespeare managed to-"

Her question was interrupted as the piercing loud bell rang. Students were quick to pack their bags and rush out, and so was Tyler. He moved on to his next class, social studies which he hated, which was over in a flash -  _thank god_. The day passed very fast, and before he knew it school was over and the clock struck three. Tyler sighed as he knew what was coming.

Mr Bill didn't tell him where to go, so he figured he would just go to his classroom. Tyler walked towards the science block through the fairly empty corridors, passing several biology, physics and chemistry classrooms, before he stopped at Mr Bill's. Tyler reached for the doorknob about to enter the classroom when he heard faint arguing inside. He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought of the most reasonable thing to do. Tyler,  _being the shitty person he was_ , pressed his head against the door and quietly listened in.

" _You need to do this!_ " Tyler knew that voice, it was his teachers. He was pretty worked up, Tyler should know. He got shouted at with that exact same tone in many chemistry lessons by the bastard. " _You need the extra credit!_ " He heard him pacing around the room, probably in frustration.

" _It doesn't matter! You didn't ask me!_ " A much younger voice shouted to the teacher, and the puzzled teen who had his ear against the door didn't recognize it. " _I didn't even sign up for the fucking program!_ "

_The program_ , Tyler thought.  _They must be arguing over that tutoring thing..._

" _Goddammit, it's not a big deal! It's not like it's affecting you! You don't even do anything after school!_ " The teacher raised his voice at the other.

" _It's because I don't want to!_ " The younger shouted louder, arguing back.

" _It's not the end of the world!_ " The older shouted. " _Stop being so difficult!_ "

" _Just..._ " Mr Bill sighed heavily. " _Just do it, for me... please._ " He heard his teacher's voice soften. Tyler scoffed at the other side of the door at his teacher's words. Whoever he was talking to seemed to be someone close to him, they must have some sort of relationship. There was a long moment of silence which made Tyler freak out thinking they heard him before he heard their voices.

" _Fine, but you owe me._ "

Tyler decided it was time to enter and as he did, Mr Bill and a boy Tyler had never seen before pulled away from their embrace, the teen running his hands through his brown locks with an embarrassed flush on his cheeks. The teacher, on the other hand, was quite shocked with his eyebrows raised and his body tensed up. Tyler chuckled as he thought of his chemistry teacher, who was a massive dick to students, having a student-teacher relationship.

_Ah, the irony of life._

"Oh, Tyler," Mr Bill said as he looked at the teen with widened eyes. "Um- this is your tutor for the next two weeks." He said awkwardly grabbing the still blushing student's arm and dragging him closer to Tyler who watched the scene unfold with a slight smirk.

The boy gave Tyler a small wave, before introducing himself. "H-hi, I'm Josh." He said shyly. Tyler was quite surprised that someone that quiet could shout at Mr Bill in a full-blown argument.

He looked like a very shy person, his cheshunt hair covering his forehead, his soft caramel eyes glued to the tiled floor as if it was the only thing he could look at. He was wearing a baggy beige sweater which was too large on him, as he was holding the end of the selves in his hands. His slim fitting pants were a dark brown and plain but looked neatly ironed with no wrinkles visible. Tyler realized what he was doing and tore his eyes away, a barely visible tint of rose on his cheeks.

"Tyler, although I'm sure you already know that."

Mr Bill looked between the boys for a few seconds in the moment of awkward silence before clapping his hands together. "I'll leave you boys to it." He threw his backpack on rushing out the classroom, his footsteps fading in the corridor until leaving the two in silence. After a few moments of prolonged silence and awkward feet-shuffling and finger-fiddling, Tyler spoke up, filling the classroom with the sound of his voice.

"So, you and Mr Bill?" Tyler asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, setting himself onto a desk and watching as Josh registered what he has said. His face turned a shade of red as he shook his head fiercely, denying his claim.

"N-no! You got it all wrong!" Josh said panicked, as he waved his hands as well before calming down. "H-he's my..." He hesitated before continuing. "He's my mom's f-friend! He's l-like an uncle! I-i would never...!!"

Tyler smiled at the boy uncharacteristically. "Sure..." He said, looking at Josh as he calmed down, caught his breath and sat down on the chair next to Tyler, before letting his eyes fall to the floor where they were previously.

"Um... so, William said you were s-struggling with balancing equations?" Josh said, seeing Tyler tilt his head in confusion before quickly correcting himself. "S-sorry, Mr Bill."

"Yup," Tyler said popping the  _p_ , before getting off the desk before sitting down on its chair. "Fell asleep and missed the method plus explanation." He nonchalantly said, watching the other teen carefully, noting the way his eyebrows raised in shock. " _William_  was pretty pissed."

"F-for someone who's failing a class, y-you seem awfully relaxed," Josh commented with a slight laugh, looking up for the first time meeting Tyler's eyes for a fraction of a split second, before looking around the room.

"It's cause I don't care." Tyler gave an unconcerned shrug, continuing. "But I might as well try." He said, taking off his backpack and removing his chemistry science book, his notepad and a pencil. Josh was quick to follow his actions, pulling his stuff out as well, including a thick, heavy textbook titled 'chemistry for dummies'.

"S-sorry about the book..." Josh said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Mr Bill gave it to me this morning s-saying it would help you 'tremendously'." He said with a sheepish smile. He opened the textbook to page 39 which had large pictures of the instructions.

"Oh, it's fine..." Tyler said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I know Mr Bill wants the  _very best_ of my ability, so I'll try  _very hard_."

"Ah, the awful art of s-sarcasm."

"Kind sir, you wound me."

"I-i try."

_This might actually be not that bad._

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Two hours had passed and Tyler's brain felt like it was melting. He had been attempting the same question for the entire time he was sitting with Josh.

"N-no, you have to add them up..." Josh said in slight annoyance in his tone.

Tyler wasn't an idiot. Well, maybe he was but he could sense Josh was ticked. He had repeated the same instructions so many times but he just wasn't getting it. Science just wasn't really his thing. Tyler looked at the question frustratedly before letting out an angry shout, snapping and throwing his pencil across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud. He ran his hands through his hair as he groaned.

"I'm never going to get this." He complained, hearing a chuckle from Josh, who stiffened when Tyler shot him an annoyed glance.

"We just need to... t-try again," Josh said, leaning over the textbook and looking for another question. Tyler had the perfect view of the boy and just couldn't help glancing at him.

"Okay..." Tyler said, his previous frustration dripping away.

"S-so," Josh started looking back at Tyler who snapped his eyes away. "Since you broke  _and_ threw your pencil in a fit of rage... y-you can have my spare." He said digging into his pencil case and grabbing a baby blue pencil with a pink eraser. The boy handed it to Tyler as their fingers brushed for a moment, causing both boys to spazz out internally.

Josh cleared his throat before leaning over and writing the question in Tyler's notebook, their shoulders barely touching. "N-now, the question just has three elements in it, which means we have to write the number of atoms per element..." He said while drawing a table. Josh looked fully concentrated in his explanation as his eyebrows were furrowed and his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Tyler tried his hardest to nod and act like he was understanding, even though he wasn't.

The more Josh explained the question, the more Tyler was mesmerized by his calm voice, noticing how confident he sounded when he wasn't stuttering as much. Tyler had time to fully take in his appearance... His long fluttery eyelashes, light freckles dusted all over his cheeks, and warm caramel brown eyes. The side of his eyes had faint wrinkles as if he smiled and laughed a lot. His curly chestnut hair was swept to the side and flopped over his forehead as he looked down at the notepad.

_wait, what?_

Tyler shook his head before coming to his senses.

"...And the last step is to add up the atoms of the last element... and you're done." Josh said, before looking back at Tyler who tore his eyes away as a light blush coloured his cheeks- visible to the other teen.

"Did you get t-that?" Josh asked timidly as he looked down at his hands. Tyler knew he didn't make any progress today, but he wouldn't say that to the person beside him.

"It's starting to make some sense." He lied, seeing the edges of Josh's mouth curve.

"G-great," Josh said, looking straight at Tyler for once. "I think that's it for today..." He said with a shy smile, closing his textbook and packing his stuff up. He shrugged his backpack on and muttered a small 'bye' before leaving.

Tyler packing his things up, feeling a slight sadness rise in his chest. He didn't know why it was there - he didn't even want the stupid tutoring. Tyler packed his pen and notebook and realized he still had the baby blue pencil, which made the boy chuckle. He put it in his pocket and figured he would give it back to the other teen tomorrow.

The teen put on his bag and dashed out the empty school, making his way home with a slight pep in his step. This walk home felt different, he was noticing the way the clouds had a pink tint to them as the sun started to set, noticing the way the butterflies gathered at a tree he always passed. Plus he didn't feel the nauseating wave of sadness he felt each walk home. Something  _was_  different... Tyler just didn't know what.

_It might have been the smile on his face._

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look- Tyler is lovesick...

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had to do that equation once. That's some hard shit, take it from me.


End file.
